Revelations Read online

  ANCIENT ORIGINS

  REVELATIONS

  (Book One of Ancient Origins)

  Robert Storey

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  Table of Contents

  All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  (Note – Ancient Origins: Revelations was previously entitled 2040: Revelations)

  Table of Contents

  FACT:

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Ancient Origins: Dark Descent (Preview)

  APPENDICES

  About the Author

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Copyright

  Adversity is a fact of life.

  It can’t be controlled.

  What we can control is how we react to it.

  – Unknown

  FACT:

  On the 8th January 2011 an asteroid with the potential to impact Earth in 2040 was discovered by the Mount Lemmon Survey. This near-Earth object was given the designation 2011 AG5.

  The majority of locations and organisations referenced in this book are real.

  Many of the world’s most powerful governments build and operate large clandestine subterranean facilities

  Prologue

  November 13th, 2017

  Professor Steiner buzzed with suppressed excitement. This didn’t happen often as his job was mundane, to him anyway. As head of a highly classified government subterranean research project, his job was an important one. He managed thousands of staff, allocated budgets and ensured the facility ran smoothly year in and year out, regardless of the many difficulties that arose. People’s lives depended upon the decisions he made. Most other people would find the job extremely challenging, even stressful; he did not, however. Graduating top of his class from Harvard in engineering, physics and computer science, with PHDs in all three subjects, he had lectured all around the world including CIT, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge and Tokyo. At the forefront of various research projects, he’d also authored numerous acclaimed scientific papers.

  So why had this emotional transformation occurred? He’d been called to the White House on a matter of national security. The national security part was old hat to Steiner, of course; it was part of his daily work. The White House, on the other hand, certainly was not. Like many people he’d only seen inside it on TV and most of the time that was probably a mock up on a movie set or in a TV studio; this, however, was the real deal.

  ‘Professor Steiner.’

  Snapping out of his reverie he looked up from his seat as a woman dressed in a smart suit approached him.

  ‘Would you like to come this way, please?’

  Standing up he smoothed down his trousers, making himself presentable, and followed her through a door and into a large hallway. As they walked he took in the sumptuous surroundings of the residency of the most powerful man in the modern world.

  Apparently the Oval Office was under renovation, otherwise he’d have asked for a quick peek inside. This hadn’t dampened his mood, though, and neither did the fact that he wasn’t meeting the President, who was off on important business at the 2017 G13 summit meeting in Shanghai. Just being in the White House was enough for him.

  The woman opened a door and waved him through. ‘Take a seat, Professor; they will be with you shortly.’

  Thanking her, he settled down again to wait.

  As Steiner sat there, his gaze was drawn to a magnificent oil painting that hung on the wall opposite. Captivating in its depth and energy, the picture depicted the Greek god Hephaestus wielding stonemasons’ and blacksmiths’ tools against the Earth. Great fire and gasses spewed forth at the sites of impact while gaping rents in the planet’s crust branched out across its spherical mass, revealing the molten core beneath; the detail astounded him. He wondered how long it would take someone to paint such a masterpiece. Hundreds of hours, he presumed, preceded by a lifetime of mastering the discipline’s finer points. Steiner’s eyes soaked up the exquisite brush strokes, his thoughts becoming entranced by the scene’s dynamic power. Sometime later, as he continued to study the great work framed within its ornate border of plaster and gold leaf, a young man appeared in a doorway off to his right.

  ‘Professor, good to see you again. Sorry to keep you waiting. Come in, come in.’

  Steiner couldn’t remember the man’s name. Not one of his strongest points, names and faces. Give him a mathematical proof to remember any day of the week. Entering the room, he saw that four people sat waiting informally on sofas and chairs, papers, files and laptops arranged haphazardly around them.

  ‘Madam Vice President,’ Steiner heard himself say.

  The VP stood and shook his hand, the greeting as genuine as the warmth in her eyes.

  Her entourage included one of the Joint Chiefs, a couple of suits and the man who’d let him in.

  ‘Professor,’ the Vice President said, ‘thank you for coming on such short notice. I hope we haven’t inconvenienced you too much by interrupting your important work. This is General Redshaw; I think you may have met previously?’

  Steiner nodded giving the general a small smile as he was reintroduced. The fact was he didn’t remember the man at all, but not wanting to appear incompetent he refrained from disclosing this fact.

  ‘My Chief of Staff, David Broad,’ the VP continued.

  A sallow faced man moved forwards and shook Steiner’s hand firmly. ‘Professor, it’s nice to meet you at last.’

  Steiner gave another nod of his head as he returned the handshake.

  ‘Malcolm Joiner, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence,’ said the VP, indicating a tall, wiry man with jet black hair, who remained sitting, merely lifting a couple of fingers from his knee in recognition. The VP then put one hand on the young man’s shoulder. ‘And of course, my personal aide, Nathan Bryant, who you already know.’

  Ah, that’s his name, Steiner recalled belatedly.

  ‘We have a lot to discuss, Professor,’ she told him, gesturing with a measured hand for him to take a seat, ‘so let’s get straight down to business.’

  Steiner sat down at the end of one of the sofas and Nathan handed him a cup of tea. For many days Steiner had been wondering why he had been called to this meeting, the prestigious surroundings and company meant it must be important; just how important he was about to find out.

  Malcolm Joiner cleared his throat. ‘Professor, in January, 2011 an observatory in Tucson, Arizona sighted an asteroid that had the potential to impact earth in 2040.’ He handed him a grainy printout of the object in question.

  ‘As you are probably aware, there are many potential objects in space that are likely to collide with the Earth at some point in the future. Unfortunately we have since verified that this rock, some four miles in length and half that in diameter, will almost certainly collide with us in 2040.

  ‘T
o give you an idea of the scale of this threat scientists originally estimated the infamous meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs was about nine miles across; however, new estimates have the dino killer at a mere three to four miles in length. If this new data is true – and we believe it is – then we can expect—’

  ‘An initial impact devastation zone,’ Steiner said, cutting in, ‘earthquakes and possibly volcanic activity. Tsunamis and destruction of the ozone layer, if the impact is in an ocean or sea, followed by acid rain and intense localised fires. The resulting dust cloud kicked up on impact will encase the planet for a number of years, killing off crops and plant life globally, not to mention the impact on human and animal life.’ As Steiner finished his sentence it dawned on him the immense implications of what he’d just described.

  ‘Indeed,’ Joiner said, his tone solemn. ‘Not a pretty picture. Yet, unlike in Hollywood movies, our top scientists tell us we do not currently have the capability to divert or destroy any asteroids that are heading our way. This won’t stop us from trying, of course, but since the whole of our species is threatened with extinction we prefer to have plans with as close to a one hundred per cent chance of survival as possible. Not just survival, but a means by which to continue our way of life.’

  ‘What about putting bases on the Moon or Mars?’ Steiner said without thinking.

  Joiner’s mouth twitched, which may have been the man’s attempt at a smile. ‘Again, contrary to popular culture, we are even further away from attempting to populate other celestial bodies. So what do we do to counter these horrific after-effects? There are a few options open to us.’

  Turning, Joiner pressed a remote button to bring up large slides on the huge flat screens behind him. He pointed to the first. ‘Option one, underground shelters. Perhaps the most effective solution available to us at present. Any such subterranean facilities will be able to preserve our way of life, our species and the many other forms of life on the planet which may – although unlikely in this instance – be utterly wiped out by any impact blast and fallout. Option two.’ He pointed to the next screen along.

  ‘Space stations. Much more expensive in every respect; however, they have the significant advantage of manoeuvrability, enabling them to avoid direct impacts in Earth’s orbit. And option three,’ he said, motioning at the final screen, ‘adaptive measures. Genetically modified crops, plants and trees which can withstand little to no sunlight for long periods. Food stockpiling and water storage. Infrastructure strengthening and adaptation. Conservation investment. Population education, leading up to impact – eternal darkness for many years will lead to mass panic and potentially wars and the breakdown of civilisation, unless pre-empted and diffused. Population evacuation of impact zone and any mega tsunami pathways.

  ‘Since we have a finite time-frame of twenty-three years to prepare for impact, it was decided that the most viable options were one and three. Option two will be considered on a very small scale, utilising current projects.’

  ‘Are you with us, Professor?’ the Vice President said.

  Tearing his eyes away from the screen Steiner focused on the VP, his mind racing and his excitement a distant memory. His expression became serious. ‘I am, Madam Vice President,’ he said confidently.

  ‘Good. I knew you were going to be up to the task.’ She turned back to look at the Deputy Intelligence Director. ‘Proceed, Malcolm.’

  ‘For the past few years all the major nations of the world have been in intense discussions on how to combat this distant threat,’ Malcolm Joiner continued. ‘Not acting now may prove catastrophic in the future. Your work, Professor, since this discovery, has become more important than ever, which is why you will have seen a large increase in your budget year on year.

  ‘Not only do subterranean facilities help to protect against meteor strikes, they will also be our first defence against super volcanoes and infrastructure-damaging solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These facilities, as you are well aware, will also lend themselves to protecting us from other pressing threats, such as pandemics, biological and nuclear warfare, and so on. Due to the urgency and severity of the threat to the planet we have been able to cut through a lot of red tape to speed up the planning of our defences; redirecting resources to and from the varying nations and multinational companies around the world.

  ‘This process has inevitably been hindered by the need to ensure that the reason for such large scale unilateral cooperation between nations and private enterprises, initially, is known to only a select few. Fortunately the need for such secrecy has been aided by organisations that have been operating with complete – how should I put it? – un-transparency for generations, operating around the world unseen by the majority of the populace. They have proved very useful in averting suspicions and minimising the potential for mass panic and the breakdown of civilisation.

  ‘We need the world’s economy and people to go about their daily lives in as normal a way as possible, which will give humanity its best chance of survival in the future. Apart from the people in this room there are only a handful of people in the U.S. who know about this situation. Needless to say, everything you have been told falls under the official secrets act, to which you are already bound via your current position.’ The intelligence agent looked over to the VP. ‘Madam Vice President?’

  ‘Thank you, Malcolm. So, Professor, what do think?’

  ‘I’m thinking you want me to help you build a facility,’ Steiner said.

  ‘Well, yes and no. We need you to head up a programme,’ she told him, ‘globally.’

  Steiner’s eyes widened in shock.

  ‘We are setting up an organisation called the Global Meteor Response Council, or GMRC for short,’ the VP continued. ‘The GMRC will be operating under the banner of the United Nations, but in fact it will have significantly more powers and will operate and virtually control every nation’s response to the asteroid and its eventual impact and fallout. You will not be required to operate in the public domain as it would merely serve to nullify your skill set. No, you will help lead the council from behind the scenes and concentrate on the worldwide subterranean response.

  ‘You were our chosen candidate from the United States, and while your Chinese and British counterparts also had excellent credentials, you won out on the fourth round of voting.’ She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling with the glimmer of mischief. ‘So, I believe congratulations are in order.’

  Globally, Steiner thought, in command of preserving civilisation, humanity and virtually all life on Earth? No pressure then! ‘Thank you, Madam Vice President,’ he said dryly. ‘You didn’t think I should be informed about my involuntary candidacy prior to the voting?’

  ‘Would it have made any difference?’

  ‘I suppose not,’ he conceded.

  ‘Excellent.’ She turned to her right. ‘General?’

  ‘Yes, Madam Vice President. Thank you.’ General Redshaw considered Steiner for a moment. ‘Professor, your job is going to be incredibly difficult; however, you will have a good team to support you.’

  ‘Do I not get to pick my own support staff?’ Steiner said.

  ‘Unfortunately no, due to the sensitivity of the programme, team members will be allocated as we see fit. If you have any problems, come to us; the five people in this room are from this point on your core support. We are your team.’

  ‘Hang on; you’re saying I’m in charge of you, a member of the Joint Chiefs?’

  ‘In a manner of speaking, yes. You will encounter many problems in the next twenty-three years and I am here to ensure you have the full backing of the United States military when and where needed. Hard decisions will need to be made.’

  ‘Does the President know the full picture?’

  The Chief of Staff stepped in to answer. ‘No. He knows what he needs to know to do his job. He won’t be in office long enough to warrant full disclosure.’

  ‘Doesn’t that also apply to you, Madam Vice President?’ Stei
ner said.

  ‘No, once my tenure is at an end we will remain as a team to ensure stability is maintained. Personnel change is neither efficient nor cost effective, and increases the risk of intelligence exposure – or so I’m told,’ she said looking over at Malcolm Joiner, who nodded in agreement. She turned back to Steiner, a small smile creeping onto her face once more.

  ‘Hang on, doesn’t that mean I’m also in charge of you, Madam Vice President? Or will be?’

  ‘It does indeed, Professor.’ Her smile widened.

  ‘Right – err – okay then, just making sure.’ Dear lord what am I getting into? he thought to himself. In charge of the Vice President of the United States and one of the Joint Chiefs, not to mention the Deputy Intelligence Director.

  ‘Your job at the China Lake facility will terminate immediately,’ the General continued, ‘your home and work will now be moved to a location on the border of New Mexico and Colorado, near a town called Dulce.’

  Stunned, Steiner looked at them in amazement. ‘I thought the Dulce underground base was just some bunkum made up by conspiracy theorists and alien nuts. You’re telling me it actually exists?’

  ‘The Dulce project has been underway for two decades,’ General Redshaw told him. ‘With this new situation we have simply adapted it to suit.’

  ‘How large is its subterranean footprint and how on God’s green earth have you kept it a secret? I’m in the same field with high clearance; I haven’t even suspected that there was something going on there.’

  ‘The footprint is approximately twenty square miles. As to how we keep it so well concealed, our friends in the intelligence community can be thanked for that.’

  ‘We aim to please,’ Joiner said, with an air of nonchalance.

  ‘Twenty square miles, but that’s ten times bigger than China Lake!’

  ‘It will actually be a lot bigger than that, Professor,’ General Redshaw said, ‘as it will utilise the cascading chamber design that you invented. We’ve simply scaled it up. Final preliminary testing is progressing and the forecasts look very good for a fully functional multi-level facility to be viable in less than ten years. The top of the complex is three thousand feet beneath the surface while the bottom, when it is finished, will be over ten thousand feet down. It is truly an astounding feat of engineering on a scale humankind has never seen before.’